Disable Smilies in This Post. Show Signature: include your profile signature. Only registered users may have signatures.

*If HTML and/or UBB Code are enabled, this means you can use HTML and/or UBB Code in your message.

If you have previously registered, but forgotten your password, click here.

T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

NASA update

Space Shuttle Program baselines STS-135

On Thursday, the Space Shuttle Program baselined the STS-135 mission for a target launch date of June 28. It is NASA's intent to fly the mission with orbiter Atlantis carrying the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station.

The mission will also fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems.

In late December, the agency's Space Operations Mission Directorate requested the shuttle and International Space Station programs take the necessary steps to maintain the capability to fly Atlantis on the STS-135 mission.

The Authorization Act of 2010 directs NASA to conduct the mission, and baselining the flight enables the program to begin preparations for the mission with a target launch date of June 28. The mission would be the 135th and final space shuttle flight.

Hart Sastrowardoyo

Does this mean STS-135 is funded or not?

Robert Pearlman

Congress has yet to appropriate the funds for this mission, but in order to protect the option to fly STS-135, NASA needed to begin its normal pre-flight preparations.

ASCAN1984

Who do you think the crew could be? Will Tim Kopra be in with a good chance?

Kopra has no chance of being added, by way of "consolation prize", as a fifth crew member. As I understand it, crew is limited to four to maximise up-lift of payload to ISS, and also because of Soyuz rescue considerations.

I assume, however, that Kopra is of the right ergonomic size that he could fit in a Soyuz, given his prior stint onboard ISS, its just the end-of-program considerations mean there can and will be no fifth crew member on this last shuttle mission should it be funded and fly.

Delta7

NASA has now posted pictures of the STS-135 crew training, in it's gallery.